According to articles that Radio Free Asia and Voice of America published, the body of Nobel Peace Prize Winner Liu Xiaobo was cremated on the morning of July 15 and his ashes were cast into the ocean right after the cremation. Six of Liu’s family members were at the funeral, including his wife. None of Liu’s friends were present. At 4:00 p.m. on the 15th, during the press conference that the Shen Yang Municipal office held, Liu’s brother read a written statement. He “thanked” the party and the government twice in his speech and also explained why they “chose” to cast Liu’s ashes into the ocean. Liu’s wife was said to be too weak to be at the press conference. Liu’s brother left after he finished reading the statement and didn’t answer any questions from the media. Liu’s wife and many of his friends received a warning from the security bureau not to attend the funeral. The photo taken at the funeral showed that most of the people at the funeral were government officials and members of the public security bureau. On the day prior to the funeral the spokesperson from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told reporters that China was against the Noble Peace Prize being awarded to Liu and asked the media not to make any prediction as to whether Liu’s wife will be allowed to travel to Norway to pick up the Nobel Peace Prize that Liu received in 2010. The Nobel Peace Prize committee chairman applied for a visa to come to China to attend Liu’s funeral. Her application was denied because she didn’t receive the invitation from Liu’s family. Ms. Anderson stated that Liu had passed away and she was not able to reach Liu’s wife.